Why Cities like Washington D.C. are Prone to Fail

[May 23, 2018] Wanna have an injection of commonsense and a dose of reality; all in one? Well, you came to the right place because I’m the aggravated mastermind that is not just willing and able to do it but I have a size 12 boot that is good at motivating the lazy and stupid. So it is with our political elite here in the city of Washington D.C. which has some the smartest people and dumbest morons ever contemplated by philosophers and folks from flyover country. I worry about the city because if it were not for the infusion of great quantities of taxpayer money, the city would be financially insolvent. Graft, corruption, sleaze, and fraud and that is the bailiwick of the smart folks that makes the city look like the Keystone Cops comedies of the early 1900s.

Where I work in Washington D.C., there’s an old joke that’s made a roaring comeback over the past few years. I’m not sure who said it but he was witty. It goes something like this, “Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly and for the same reason.” If you read my guest articles before in General Satterfield’s leadership blog, then you know I don’t pussyfoot around when it comes to telling the story like I see it. One man once told me that it would be in my best interest to pull my punches just a little. I punched him in the nose, broke it, and then threatened to kick him in the nuts if he ever crossed my path again. Hah! He didn’t have the balls to report me to the police. Weakling!

Plato once said that “The City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.” Perceptive! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again for those too lazy to go back and read my earlier guest blogs. When a city’s population lacks the elementary moral courage to stand up for those things that make people successful and they fail to heap shame on bad behavior, then expect the worst. Cities, like the City of Baltimore that I regularly write about, deserve what they get. If its regular citizens are stupid or gullible and its elite are corrupt or lazy, then that city will fail. Only through the copious infusion of cash from an outside source can prolong its failure. The problem is, of course, is that you eventually run out of taxpayer money and generous citizens. Wait a minute, someone said something like this before about Socialism; oh yeah, Margaret Thatcher.

Our American cities are like the old Soviet Union where city rules and regulations are complex, always changing, ambiguous, and arbitrary. There is no excuse for not being in full compliance and the citizen can expect a hefty fine or jail for a simple violation of them. Don’t be surprised when you’re never in compliance; bane on you who think you are. Here’s something only a few will ever know; the city government is built on the assumption that they can generate enough cash to maintain their existence through the collection of fines and other such methods to generate a stable financial base. That’s why I never drive in Baltimore or a number of American cities because it’s only a matter of time before I get pulled over for doing something in violation of something.

Cities like Baltimore are prone to fail – they are so inclined to do so simply because they are designed to fail. Yup! Designed to fail? … and its citizens know it and do not care one speck. Those large-city citizens are in it for what they can personally gain from the problems and they are quick to capital on it. Illegal drugs, murder, corruption, broken families, slums; they all require some city government response or so we are told. Want a job then just apply; you get a job for life, a decent salary, great benefits, and a built-in union that controls the levers of government. How can you lose with a situation like this? Nepotism or knowing somebody is the way to get one of those jobs but hey, they will never fire you so don’t worry. The city won’t really fail because the cash from gullible citizens and the state and federal government will continue. Besides, cities are too big to fail.

Author: Sadako Red
Disclaimer: I chose the pen name Sadako Red in order to remove any notoriety reflecting on my other real job as a very senior executive in the Department of Defense. Naturally, my opinion is my opinion only and despite DoD wanting to associate with my fine work, they cannot have it. Trust me, they want it. Trust me, they can’t stand for it.

27 thoughts on “Why Cities like Washington D.C. are Prone to Fail”

I want to thank all my “fans” who have come here to post such positive comments about my ability to write in non-PC speak. That is the way I am and I will never change. I have been in contact with Brig Gen Satterfield who assures me that he will post my work in the future again.

Here’s a great quote from Augustus, “I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.” He is telling us that he brought “civilization” to Rome; better discipline, improved administration, new and modern laws, and a host of changes that created a modern marvel for the time.

Love it or leave it. That’s what I always say and I left the big city for small-town American and now I’m happier than ever. My family has time with me and we can enjoy a walk around the neighborhood. Now I teach in a small school and know nearly every student. That’s what is so great about NOT LIVING in the BIG CITY.

The city is the perfect place for narcissists, power-hungry politicians, graft, criminals, and a host of other nefarious low lifes. If you want to be anonymous and do things you would never tell your mother about, large cities are the place to go.

“A city is not gauged by its length and width, but by the broadness of its vision and height of its dreams.” Quote by Herb Caen, a San Franciso journalist who knows his stuff. Unfortunately, some cities like Baltimore have no clear vision. It’s all about being “fair” and “compassionate”. At least that is what we’re told and those gullible enough to believe it are, in fact, the problem.

Plato was a smart guy and he knew that a city was made up and reflected the culture of its citizens. If they were weak, the city was weak and, in his time, it would be conquered by another stronger city. Today we are weaklings compared to those in his time but his quote is still relevant.

Cities have always been corrupt. I’m not aware of any that were not. Smart people have tried to figure out how to overcome the problem, but as of yet, no good solutions. Some cities are much more corrupt than others. I see this in those that slant toward socialism.

Washington DC is awash in taxpayer money. That money has been used to cover up a number of big problems. Throw enough money at a problem and then hope it will go away. That was the basis of the philosophy of Pres Barack Obama. Remember? Hope and Change. Yep, that is exactly what we got. It will take a generation of citizens that are smart to overcome the overspending.

The total lack of political correctness is refreshing. I think you are spot on with your article today. Our citizens, who lack the basics of democracy, vote for politicians that promise to give them more handouts. Just like our Socialist neighbors who have failed, we vote for more of the same.